Kuwait started like a house on fire, leading 7-0
after five minutes and by 11 at the half, but Hong Kong buckled down to work
and used a 32-14 third quarter to seize the momentum and coast to victory. Wai
Hang Yip registered a jaw-dropping line – 16 points, 17 rebounds, and 2 blocks
– to lead Hong Kong, while Ho Man Chu hit 6 triples to finish with 20 markers.
Ka Chung On also impressed with 19 points and 6 steals. On the other end,
Kuwait was paced by the combined 38 points of Hamad Hasan and Naser Al-Yahyouh.

The Taiwanese wasted no time in putting distance
between themselves and the dangerous Kazakhs, leading by 16 at the end of one
quarter and playing keep away till the final buzzer. Four Taiwan players scored
in double-figures, led by Tseng Po-Yu and Lin Ming-Yi, who dropped 19 and 17
points respectively. Lee Kuan-Yi also did well, scoring 9 points after hitting
3 treys. Undersized forward Hsu Hsuan-Yu also collared 10 boards. Kazakhstan,
for its part, saw three guys finish in double-digits, led by 13 points from
Valentin Kirilin.

Team Melli had a strong start, leading 21-9 after the
first ten minutes, but the Japanese kept in-step and threatened the entire
game. Team Hayabusa used great outside shooting to stay within striking
distance, with Shota Tsuyama, Ryosuke Motomura, and Yuki Mikami combining for 8
three-point bombs. Iran, however, asserted itself inside and outscored Japan,
44-8, in the paint. Team Melli also ruled the battle of the boards,
outrebounding Japan, 51-31. As expected, Mohammad Yousofvand led Iran with 23
points, 13 rebounds, and 2 blocks, while Abdolsamad Soroodi added 18 markers. Mikami
topscored for Japan with 17 points.

The Malaysians continued to turn a lot of heads,
using a strong finishing kick to dispose of the Jordanians and secure a
quarterfinal berth for the first time in decades. Wing Jet Tan was the most
impressive for Malaysia here, dropping 21 points on 8/15 FG shooting. He was
backstopped by Yi Hou Wong ‘s 15 markers, while Yee Tong Heng added 15 off the
bench. Malaysia led by as many as 17 points in the final frame to underscore
its dominance. Yazeed Hijazi and Mohammad Al-Abed led Jordan, which is now
eliminated from contention, with 15 and 12 points respectively.

A day after dropping a close game to the Philippines,
host Qatar experienced a shellacking at the hands of powerhouse Korea. The East
Asians overpowered their Gulf counterparts inside, beating them in rebounds, 40-22,
and points in the paint, 42-26. Korea also forced 26 Qatari turnovers, scoring
32 markers off those errors. Jeon Hyun-Woo rattled in 7 threes on his way to a
game-high 27 points, while Park Jun-Yong scored 13 and big man Song Kyo-Chang
added 10 in just 18 minutes of action. Qatar’s dynamic duo of Abdulrahman Saad
and Andelrahman Abdelhaleem paired up for 29 points in a losing effort.

Fesal Abou-Zenad shoots from in close against Korea's trees.

Kim Kyung-Won has been a tower of strength for
the Koreans in this tourney.

China allowed Batang Gilas to stick around for most
of the first half before going on a 15-4 run in last five minutes of the second
half to take a 19-point lead at halftime. Coach Fan Bin’s wards never looked
back from that point on and romped to win #5. Zhao Rui’s 25 points led the
Chinese, while Sun Minghui, Yang Kai, Shao Yinglun, and Zou Yuchen all tallied
double-figure scoring. Not surprisingly, China dominated the rebounds, 57-29, and
inside scoring, 54-26. Meanwhile, nobody scored more than 9 points for Team
Philippines.